The Cloudspotter's Guide is an interesting premise, and one that I hoped would equip me ably to glance heavenwards and confidently see what was what, working as I do outdoors in all weathers - and yes - even perhaps "amaze my friends" (as neat tricks in my childhood always promised)!

The book starts well: copiously illustrated and nicely laid out with good summary introductions of each major cloud type encountered chapter by chapter. The author's style is necessarily informative and somewhat entertaining, though this latter trait becomes a trifle tiresome in places as I got the impression he was trying just a bit too hard to be funny. I enjoyed these early chapters (on the low altitude clouds) as I genuinely felt I was learning something (as was my hope) and the subject matter was all quite digestible. But as I progressed through the book, I felt by the midway point that it was all becoming a bit of a blur. I felt bogged down with the confusing explanations of physics, and convection, and.... other stuff. It seems that one cloud began to roll into another, and I found it challenging to tell my Nimbostratus from my Stratocumulus.

I think it's probably me - physics and chemistry were never my strongest subjects, and pretty much all of the science I've learnt as an adult has been tree-related. (But I have read popular science books with trees as the main subject matter that were well-written and not toobamboozling... So I know it can be done.) Finding myself becoming bored with the book, I've abandoned it to the bathroom window sill, where it will doubtless remain until our next epic storm or other freak weather event pushes me to reconsider just why Cumulonimbus occur! ( )

Reading this book is like panning for gold: hard work, time consuming, with occasion flakes of treasure to keep you motivated. This took me months to read, but I finished because I kept hoping to find some more of those treasures hidden in this book. I will say that I look at the clouds differently, but the way this book is written did not help me retain very much knowledge about them. I would rate this one-star, except for the few really good bits that shined. Those parts (perhaps 10% of the book) are 4-1/2 star material. ( )

As a popular science book, this is obviously supposed to be jaunty fun. I mean, it's a cloud spotters guide right, and everyone knows that there are a few basic clouds. There's cumulus, cumulonimbus, er, stratus and, er, white, black and…grey. How can you spin a book out of that?

You can't, so it's lucky that there are actually many different types of cloud, starting with a ground mist that clings to your ankles when you are tromping across a deserted moor all the way up to those vapor trails that jet aeroplanes full of tourists leave as they criss-cross an otherwise pristine sky. And then there are the sub-sets of the different clouds. Looking up has never been so complicated.

The message here is that clouds are fun and interesting, much more interesting than dull old blue sky. They add drama and excitement and romance and rain and snow and sleet and hail and, as long as you like white, black and every shade of grey in-between, colour. OK, they go pink and red too at dawn and sunset. And yes, yes, I know about rainbows.

I certainly do, because what this book is not short on is facts. Fun facts to be sure, but facts just the same. And science too. There's a lot of science in the book. The only issue is that once you get past the basic science of clouds (which is essentially moisture and temperature) you're into the more esoteric and brain-hurtee stuff. This is where the book starts to unravel a little.

Because this is popular science and the author is trying to make the science fun. More than that, he is enthusiastic about his subject. Science can be fun, ask any chemist who makes his own crystal meth, but it's something of an art. Organised fun is never fun. And the people who try to organise fun are about one step below war criminals in the 'threat to mankind' stakes.

Science is fun when your science teacher is a scrumpy drinking nutter who thinks it is a great idea to set off the sort of explosion that would register on a seismograph as an introduction to his class and, while a schoolroom full of traumatised kids are busy screaming, bleeding, sitting in pools of their own wee, says 'who can tell me what made that compound unstable?'. This book, I fear, is a little too much like the sort of science teacher who has a badge that says 'science is fun' and tries just that little bit too hard to be matey, so coming off as just a wee bit creepy.

The science and the fun never mixed. Maybe that was why I found this such hard going, which is a shame because I was prepared to like it. It's a lovely edition, with some beautiful, atmospheric (ho ho) illustrations. But the author isn't a good enough teacher to convey the advanced stuff in a sufficiently straightforward manner, and the matey stuff just grates after a while.

There are two redeeming features. The first is that something must have gone in somewhere, because I now have a much greater understanding of what's happening over my head and that understanding has greatly aided appreciation. Not only can I now see shapes in the clouds, I can pretty much know what sort of precipitation they will bring. This is a huge leap forward in the appreciation of the natural world and gives one a bit of an insight into what motivates, say, birdwatchers, or storm-chasers. And this beauty is transient. I didn't quite appreciate just how short lived a cloud is. I mean, who actually looks at the sky? One glances up and that's it. Now, My glance lingers.

The second saving grace is the last chapter, the story of the search for the 'morning glory', a particular sort of cloud native to Australia and which glider pilots surf in, in the same way that surfers surf the ocean. It was fascinating stuff and got to the heart of what being a cloud spotter is actually all about. More stories like that, men (it’s always men) in search of atmospheric phenomenon, would be something. ( )

Now in paperback: the runaway British bestseller that has cloudspotters everywhere looking up.

Where do clouds come from? Why do they look the way they do? And why have they captured the imagination of timeless artists, Romantic poets, and every kid who's ever held a crayon? Veteran journalist and lifelong sky watcher Gavin Pretor-Pinney reveals everything there is to know about clouds, from history and science to art and pop culture. Cumulus, nimbostratus, and the dramatic and surfable Morning Glory cloud are just a few of the varieties explored in this smart, witty, and eclectic tour through the skies.

Illustrated with striking photographs (including a new section in full-color) and line drawings featuring everything from classical paintings to lava lamps, The Cloudspotter's Guide will have enthusiasts, weather watchers, and the just plain curious floating on cloud nine.